What a great question!

Personally, I feel that it depends on the person. There are a lot of people who have "the right ingredients" to be successful on their own. There are also a lot of people that just won't get much out of school for various reasons.

I do think that school has a lot to offer many people though. For a lot of people, it is a good step towards being a fully functional adult. While there are some people that are 'ready for the real world' right out of high school, a lot of people are not. I think that college gives people a good environment to mature in, and helps people figure out what to do with their life.

Managing debt is an important factor though. I do not think that going to a $30k / year school is good for someone who is planning to pay for it with student loans. It is important to look at the finances for whatever you are planning to major in, and figure out how much it will cost + how much more you can reasonably expect to make by getting a degree.

There is no guarantee that you will make more by getting a degree (which does need to be factored in), but in a lot of cases a reasonable sized loan can be paid back in 3-5 years after school, and once it is paid off, the person gets to keep the higher earnings (which are also not guaranteed) for the rest of their life.